


Amalgam

by varibean



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M, had a lot of fun and i hope i did the prompt justice aowiejf, pls enjoy...Boys, wrote this for a prompt on the varigo server!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:14:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23615797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/varibean/pseuds/varibean
Summary: After relying on Ulla’s notebook to help them through their journey, the gang find that the next kingdom has little to no notes on where the next trial takes place. Their only clue is a location that might have a lead on where to go next. However, after a royal mess up on Hugo’s part, they’re left up the creek without a paddle. Not only are tensions high, but emotions as well. One thing was certain though: Hugo and Varian did not mix well.
Relationships: varian/hugo, varigo
Comments: 5
Kudos: 97





	Amalgam

Varian and Hugo didn’t mix, that much was clear to see at first glance. Hugo was rough, so many edges and layers of grime applied through falsities and smarmy charm. Meanwhile Varian was more true, more honest with himself and with others, but that often led to him being volatile at the wrong times and too quick to action based on emotion. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best combination. 

Hugo watched as Varian stormed into the campsite where the caravan and Prometheus were kept, the latter grazing at a few nearby apples and scraps that his owner had left behind. Needless to say, the young alchemist was furious. 

Behind him Yong trotted along with Nuru, both with dejected looks plastered over their faces. Even from a distance Hugo could hear Nuru trying to mumble comforting words to the small boy, a smile on her face despite the recent hardships. And lastly, heading up the rear, was Hugo himself. His face was blank, almost unreadable save for the smallest of frown lines forming beneath his softly twitching lips. 

No one was in a good mood and no one wanted to talk about it.

Yong went over to the fire pit and mumbled about getting the food ready for the night with Nuru which only resulted in a jerky nod from Varian before he headed into the makeshift lab tent. As each member went about their separate tasks, Hugo was left standing at the edge of the camp, arms crossed and the facade of normalcy fading. 

He knew he had to do something, had to make this all right. They had been so close to discovering the path to the next trial, but he’d been reckless and wanted to show off. Now they were down a crucial key to getting to the next trial and morale and it was all his fault. 

A sigh escaped him before he decided to move his feet. Yong and Nuru would probably be the easiest to apologize too; Nuru already didn’t like him before this but she was also smart enough to set bitter feelings aside and Yong was so happy-go-lucky that all it would take to earn back his favor was a brightly colored sparkler. They would be easy to win over. 

That’s exactly why Hugo walked past them and instead headed into the lab tent. The area was small and cramped with everything from books to test tubes to chemicals that had to be carefully repacked every time they wanted to move. Even though they’d set it up together, Hugo could feel the shift in the area after his most recent blunder. 

This was Varian’s space and he was intruding on the alchemist’s domain. 

The man in question was muttering to himself, flipping through books and slamming his fists down as he closed volumes that didn’t have the answers he wanted. Honestly he was quite terrifying like this. Hugo, despite his outward teasing, had a healthy mix of both fear and respect for Varian, seeing how the other was never one to back down. 

In the moment, the fear was predominant. 

As much as he would’ve loved to have stood there forever, watching the other work so nimbly even in the mists of anger instead of confronting him on the issue, he knew that he couldn’t do that. 

“Hey, uh, Varian. So about back there-” Hugo’s words were cut off before he could finish them. Suddenly Varian was striding over to him, face contorted in a particular anger that was more hurt and disappointment than malice. 

“Yes Hugo, let’s talk about ‘back there’. I would love nothing more to talk about ‘back there’ so lets do that shall we? What part of ‘back there’ do you want to talk about? Maybe the part where you fought me for ten minutes on which direction we should go in. Or maybe the part where you insisted on using your own chemicals to open a doorway and instead got everyone a nose full of stink bomb. Or maybe! Maybe it’s the part where you almost got all of us  _ fucking killed by setting off a trap! _ ” Varian was huffing by the last line, his breath leaving his body in shaking bursts that made Hugo’s own chest constrict. 

“Varian, listen-”

“No! I had my time to listen, now you’re going to listen to  _ me _ . My mother’s journal can only lead us so far; whatever was in that cavern was going to take us to the next trial location inside the kingdom. Now we have no cavern, no lead, and almost lost our lives. Instead of finding the exact location we’re going to have to spend...I don’t even know! Days? Weeks! Searching this kingdom to find the trial chamber. All because you don’t trust anyone but yourself!” 

The words stung Hugo more than any reprimand Donella had ever given him; more than any punishment he’d ever gotten from the other goons in the gang. It was blistering, scalding. He’d never felt so bad about messing up because, until Varian, he’d never messed up. 

He never messed up because he’d never truly tried to help others. 

But with Varian that’s all he wanted to do. And he fucked that chance right up. 

“Can I please just-” Hugo started, but Varian was clearly determined to not let him say anything. 

“No, you can’t. You want to know what we got for all of this? For almost losing our lives?” Varian turned around and pulled out his satchel, removing a fist sized filthy crystal that was no prettier than a dirty rock. “We got this. And only because it fell on me!” 

Hugo stood there, trying not to let his shame show through. Yet again, he was downfalled by his hubris. It was just different, working together as a team. He’d never had to trust or rely on anyone else besides himself. Apparently, he wasn’t very good at trusting others. 

In front of him Varian slammed the crystal rock down in a compound that Hugo recognized as hydrofluoric acid. Hugo thought that the other would break the beaker or hurt himself with the force that he threw the crystal rock down and suddenly worry overtook his shame. 

“Hey, careful!” He reached out to check Varian’s hand, but the other batted him away. 

“That’s enough, Hugo.” Varian said. The sound of his voice, the disappointment and rage, sent a shiver down Hugo’s spine. But he wasn’t just going to stand there and take it. If the other wanted to ignore his attempts at an apology, that was fine by him. 

Without another word, Hugo turned on his heels and headed out the tent. 

“You know,” He started, turning his attention to Nuru and Yong, who were currently on the ground after trying to scamper back to their places, “You two do a piss poor job of eavesdropping.” 

* * *

Five days went by without them speaking to each other. Five days of curt nods and stiffly eaten meals and as little contact as they could manage while still trying to figure out how to make it to the next trial. Hugo and Varian’s foul mood affected everyone; even Ruddiger was beginning to eat his apples with less enthusiasm. 

The group’s searches in the city for how to begin their trial proved to be utterly fruitless. Varian’s journal was no use, and they’d expended the only other key that they had. 

Overall, not the most fun few days. However, Yong and Nuru were becoming less concerned with the trial and more concerned for their two alchemists. 

“He’s not been sleeping a lot.” Yong said. 

“Varian never sleeps.” Came Nuru’s halfhearted reply, even though there was worry in the pit of her stomach as well. 

“But this is different. Usually he just stays up because he’s in his tent...or putting out a fire I started. Right now he’s just doing nothing.”

“Yeah.” Nuru sighed. She knew she couldn’t deny it. Things were getting bad and no one knew how to make them better again. “Hugo’s been pretty quite too. Which I thought was going to be a  _ good  _ thing but now believe it or not I’d give anything to hear him say one of his stupid jokes again. At least then that would mean things were normal.”

Both of them knew that it wouldn’t be that simple. At first they’d tried plots and schemes; fake notes left by the other, arranging meet ups between the two that never came to fruition. After several attempts over the last five days, both Yong and Nuru agreed that whatever needed to be fixed, Hugo and Varian would have to do it in their own time. 

They just wished the two worked faster.

* * *

Hugo couldn’t sleep and that really sucked for him because all he wanted to do was sleep and pretend like his current life was nothing more than a bad dream. 

Varian’s words still echoed around his mind, stinging him when he thought too hard on it. He knew he’d been in the wrong but for once in his life he had been trying to apologize and this? This is what he got out of it? 

Not worth it.

That’s what he told himself, it wasn’t worth it, it wasn’t worth it,  _ it just wasn’t worth it _ . Of course, that just wasn’t true. 

He hated to admit it but Varian’s forgiveness was worth it. It was worth its weight in gold because it would be from Varian. In the days that he’d spent avoiding Varian physically, he couldn’t escape the other alchemist in his thoughts. He was longing to make up with him, something he never cared about from anyone else. 

There was something about Varian that made him want to be better, to earn his favor. The idea that they could make up, that they could get along, that maybe one day they would do more than just get along…

Hugo smacked his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts before they could manifest. He did  _ not  _ like Varian. Not in that way. No, he couldn’t allow himself to like Varian any more than the regular amount. 

He was a spy after all. A double agent. It was basically traitors 101: Don’t fall for the guy you have to two-face. 

He always sucked at following rules. 

Knowing that he wasn’t about to get a lick of sleep any time soon, Hugo got up from his sleeping bag and exited his tent, hoping that maybe a walk would clear his mind from his unpleasant (or, perhaps, too pleasant) thoughts. 

As he got out he saw that he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep. The lab tent had a dim light shining through the flaps and through the still wind Hugo could barely make out the sound of someone muttering. 

‘Varian’s up too huh?’ He thought to himself. 

His goal was to stay away from Varian, but the light in the tent called to him like a moth to a flame. There could be no harm in just walking by it, right? 

He slinked over to the entrance, pepping inside to see that Varian’s back was turned away from the entrance, head in his hands as he sat in front of several test tubes and scattered papers. 

“What am I supposed to do, Ruddiger?” Varian softly asked the raccoon who was clearly asleep on the ground. 

“Just one big screw up after another,” He continued, “It’s all turned into a mess in just a couple of days. How can I possibly-”

This was a mistake. Hugo shouldn’t have been here, spying on Varian. And of course the other was still mad at him, for good reason. He’d screwed everything up after all, made things one big mess. 

Hugo sighed, wishing he’d just stayed in bed. But before he could leave he heard Varian continue.

“How am I ever going to tell him how sorry I am?”

Hugo paused at those words, taking a moment to linger outside of the tent before quietly slinking in to hear what else Varian had to say. 

“I was just...so upset. He could’ve died and it would’ve been my fault for arguing with him so much about the direction and the traps and everything else. And now he probably hates me right? I just wish I could tell him I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blamed everything on him. But he’d never accept that.”

“Well maybe if you asked him.” Hugo said, a smile suddenly playing on the edge of his lips. 

Varian jumped, nearly sending all of his chemicals flying and hastily tried to correct himself. 

“Hugo what-what are you doing here? You should be asleep an-and you know it’s rude to spy on people, I was having a personal moment here with Ruddiger and you can’t just walk in here and ruin our heart to heart-”

“I’m sorry.” Hugo’s words stopped Varian dead in his tracks as the other balked at him. 

“What did you say?”

“I’m not used to working with other people, so I didn’t want to listen to you. I wanted to do things my way and maybe even show off a little. But it just cost us a piece to the puzzle and...almost hurt you. I mean, almost hurt Nuru and Yong too but,” Hugo reached out and took Varian’s hand into his own, “I was worried about you the most.” 

He might’ve added the last line to sweeten Varian up just a little bit, but deep down he knew it was true. He’d been more worried about Varian than he’d been about his own hide, which was really saying something. 

He smirked seeing the other’s face turn red in the dim lantern light. God he was cute. And Funny. And charming in his own nerdy way.

“Well I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have-”

“Oh, shut up, I already heard your apology.” With Varian’s hand still in his own, he leaned forward, his face even closer to the other man’s. 

There was a beat of silence between them, stirring in both of their breaths as they studied the other’s face. They were so close, so tantalizingly close to the other. It would be so easy just to lean down a half inch more, taste Varian's delicious looking lips on his own. Up so close, Hugo could see the plumpness of the other’s bottom lip, the slight shine it had in the warm light from him licking his lips in worry. Just one more half inch. One more. 

Hugo stepped forward. Varian stepped back. 

And the sound of a beaker tipping over and smashing could be heard throughout the night. 

“Fuck!” Varian helped as he turned over and tried to find the broken glass in the soft light. “Shit, shit, I think that one was the hydrofluoric acid. I hadn’t changed it out since I put the crystal...in...it…” 

Hugo peered at him curiously as Varian’s voice died down, a look of puzzlement on his face as he leaned down to examine the pile. The blue eyed alchemist tightened his glove on his hand before gently reaching down into the rubble pile. 

The acid, over the course of a few days, had melted the crystal down. Revealing, in its place, a golden coin that had been left inside. 

Varian stood back up, coin in hand, and held it to the light. 

“That’s the emblem for the city we’re in right?” Hugo asked, looking at the coin curiously.

“Yeah. The emblem and the fountain in the square. Only...hand me a coin. One that we got from the market the other day.”

Hugo did what Varian asked with no hesitation, and the two examined the coins side by side. 

“The lady in the regular emblem on the coin is pointing down. But this one-”

“Is pointing left.” Hugo interrupted.

“Right. I mean, left. I mean-yes. You’re right that she’s pointing left. That’s where the Kingdom’s sewer main entrance is. To the left of the fountain. And the covers! They all have the emblems on them too.” Varian said. 

“I think I remember a few of them pointing in different directions but I thought that was just a pipe thing but what if-”

“They’re directions! It would take us forever to explore the entire sewer system but if they are all pointing in different directions, we start by the one at the fountain-”

“Follow them throughout the city-”

“Until we finish at the right one!”

The last line they both said together excitedly after finishing each other’s sentences.

Varian smacked his hand excitedly against Hugo’s chest several times with a wide grin. 

“And that’s the entrance to the next trial!!! This is amazing! The answer was right here in front of us all along!”

“So Varian, what you’re saying is, that I actually did the right thing and I can retract my apology now.”

“Don’t push it.” Varian tried to act stern but the grin on his face gave him away much too easily. “It’s almost morning, I’m going to go wake the others. And Hugo?”

Before Hugo knew it was coming he felt Varian’s lips press against his cheek for just a fleeting second. His eyes grew wide and he found himself at a loss for words to come back at him with. No that he really minded. 

“We, uh, have a few things to talk about after this.” 

* * *

Varian and Hugo didn’t mix, at least not at first. Hugo was rough, so many edges and layers of grime applied through falsities and smarmy charm. But there was something good underneath. Something worth finding. Meanwhile Varian was more true, more honest with himself and with others, but that often led to him being volatile at the wrong times and too quick to action based on emotion. But sometimes a bit of emotion was needed to clear the air, sometimes being volatile could lead to being vulnerable. They were a curious amalgam of two things, both brought together to make something brilliant. 

**Author's Note:**

> i got the prompt 'amalgam' for a prompt exchange on the varigo discord server! i hope it turned out well and i hope yall like it! i might...write a sequel fic about that 'talk' they have later if yall would like that!


End file.
